Basic Internet Security

The first thing to remember is that the Internet is a big place and if you put something out on the web you never know who will see it. So if its something you don’t want other people to know then don’t put it on the Internet!

On sites such as Facebook you can strictly limit who sees what but still it is safer to keep information such as your date of birth to just the day and month. For people wanting to steal your identity the key bits of information they need are your name, date of birth, address and mother’s maiden name (why can’t companies choose a more original bit of data for security?).

It may be tough to remember more than one password but if you only have one and someone works it out they could hack into any site you use it on. When choosing passwords try and make it complex using a mix of upper and lower case and numbers. Try not to choose something too obvious – you would be amazed at many people choose password123 as their password!

I also advise youngsters not to put pics of themselves showing an obvious school uniform logo on it. The same should apply to parents when posting photos on a public forum where you have no control over who sees it e.g. Blipfoto.

Be cautious with pop ups on web sites. Often they are trying to install spyware or viruses on your computer. If you get a message in one saying that you have been infected by a virus whatever you do don’t click on it to remove – make that window close instead.

Basically just use the Internet with common sense and try and keep safe.